tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81878531521684138382024-03-13T13:09:42.022-05:00not of this worldkïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-91372252205046265272012-07-21T18:41:00.001-05:002012-07-21T18:41:45.772-05:00distress and broad places<p><font size="4" face="Century Gothic"><font color="#dd8484" size="4">I  have been rather busy these days, with working a new job, and trying to take care of business. with the beau being hurt on the job in 2010, and then moving to the pacific northwest, it has been a journey full of adventures – not all of them fun. the most challenging thing has been the finances. or rather, getting over into God’s economy and out of the world’s where I have lived for way too long. seems I have an adversary who is contending my move. so I have recently spent time in God’s presence, and in His word, to get some answers and some understanding on how to get over this last, most challenging hurdle. His answer came, and here is an excerpt from a letter I wrote describing it – </font></font></p> <p>i will have enough even if i get it one day at a time. His grace is sufficient for me. thats what God spoke to my heart this morning when i asked Him about these ongoing financial struggles. i was asking Him about what was it going to take to go on over. its been like that wall in the obstacle course in basic training i never was able to go over. He said this isnt so different from paul's thorn in the flesh - still caused by people with their own agenda. so i have begun to meditate on His sufficient grace. i want to know what it is, and how to receive it. i know He told paul His power is made perfect in our weakness. and paul's response was to say he would glory in his weakness and insufficiencies, because when he was weak, then was he strong. i like God's strength better than mine. mine doesnt cover much. for all my will and intent, it always comes up way short. but this is another open door situation. its like, God prepares the path, opens the door, and arms me with His might. all i have to do is walk through that door and on up the path. the real battle is only in whose report will i believe. this grace is going to put us over, and the struggle wont be there anymore. the people might be, but they wont have the effect they have been having, because i am renewing my mind yet again and speaking His word of grace over everything. that is when the circumstances start changing to conform to the word of God. its not just about standing out in the storms and standing your ground. its also about stilling those storms, coming out of those distresses, and having Him put your feet in a broad place. that is His word to us.</p> <p>so, i am doing more than just standing and fighting the good fight and all that. more, because im doing less. im being still. im letting God do His thing. thats what He's been waiting for. affirmative, and make it so.</p> <p><font color="#ccb400" size="4" face="Century Gothic"><font color="#789339" size="4"><font color="#dd8484">so there you have it.</font> </font></font></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:c32ffe3b-56ca-4185-a401-3937997ba1ea" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/faith" rel="tag">faith</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/grace" rel="tag">grace</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/overcoming" rel="tag">overcoming</a></div> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-91411249886365467282012-06-10T18:40:00.001-05:002012-06-10T18:40:17.526-05:00the witness<p> </p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Yoj0hoHFjlQ/T9UwXZk29cI/AAAAAAAAAD8/7p5w6yg-Vkg/s1600-h/witness%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="witness" border="0" alt="witness" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-e4BXW7Z3-HM/T9UwYJSBqrI/AAAAAAAAAEE/Bf5ljyTDsLA/witness_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="415" height="287" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:4577caab-a0c3-4d0a-9e4e-00fcb1a631e5" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/Christianity" rel="tag">Christianity</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/faith" rel="tag">faith</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/God" rel="tag">God</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/Jesus" rel="tag">Jesus</a></div></p> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-22067622777453596742012-06-02T12:31:00.001-05:002012-06-02T12:31:50.195-05:00religion<p><font color="#ccb400" size="4"><font size="4"><font color="#c6cb01"><font color="#abaf01" face="Century Gothic">one thing I often hear when I’m talking about faith in God is “I’m not religious”. I usually answer that with “well good. neither is God.” religion is a set of rules and requirements imposed externally on one’s life to govern the way one lives. that puts the one in question in charge of his or her own righteousness.  that is, like, categorically opposite to faith in God. that’s faith in self. that is the fundamental difference between choosing religion and being born again. every religion out there from the new age and pagan world views, wicca, eastern philosophies, and cults to the pseudo christian denominational organizations, are all a works based system in one form or another. that is, they are all dependent on how you live your life to achieve the goal of godhood, sainthood, righteousness, perfection. they all have some kind of account balance for countering bad with good, whether its paying for it with some sort of penance, or neutralizing it with good deeds. the bottom line is that salvation depends on oneself.</font></font></font></font></p> <p><font color="#ccb400" size="4"><font size="4"><font color="#c6cb01"><font color="#abaf01" face="Century Gothic">if this were they way, how would one know when one has done enough? on what would one base one’s faith? in self? but one has seen that self is capable of corruption, and therefore needs to counter it. a corruptible self is not a reliable basis for faith when the stakes are so high. that the stakes are high is evident, else we wouldn’t be thinking about countering the bad, or even recognizing that bad is bad. I mean, what <em>is</em> bad, and why is bad less desirable than good, if there were not a reason to care about it? is it just in this life that it matters? if so, then it really doesn’t matter that much.</font></font></font></font></p> <p><font color="#abaf01" size="4" face="Century Gothic">the Bible teaches something completely different. it teaches that God is the one who provided the solution for all the bad, and that faith in what He did is the way to deliverance. the way to union with Him. the way to righteous perfection. I think that’s why it’s so hard for some to accept. they think it can’t be that easy. it’ hard on the ego. most people feel they have to deserve it, and they know they aren’t perfect.</font></p> <p><font color="#abaf01" size="4" face="Century Gothic">so what happens when one is born again? why is this so much better? because what God offers is a change from the inside. religion will never be able to touch that. the caterpillar never becomes the butterfly simply by willing himself into it. neither by following a regimen imposed from the outside. so it is with everyone who comes to God, and receives the gift of righteousness by faith. then such a one is changed on the inside, and no longer needs the law to govern him/her.</font></p> <p><font color="#abaf01" size="4" face="Poor Richard"><font face="Century Gothic">this is the point where people start either rejoicing or choking. it’s hard for many to conceive that God really doesn’t impose the law on people to govern their lives. “why, you mean we can live anyway we want to and still be accepted by God?” yeah. that’s what I mean. the thing you may not be aware of is this …  when one is born again, one is just that – born again. the body is still the same, but the spirit inside – the real you – is recreated all over. you might be surprised at how profoundly this will change one’s “want to”. when the desires of the heart are changed from the inside, when the nature of the beast is changed into the nature of God, all the want to’s change with it. now one is really back in union with God.</font></font></p> <p><font color="#abaf01" size="4" face="Poor Richard"><font face="Century Gothic">isn’t that point of all religions anyway? don’t people engage in religious pursuit because ultimately they desire to get back to God somehow? even most atheists seem to desire to at least be good, not just be happy. people seem to have an innate awareness that there is some kind of higher power, and that it is both higher than themselves, and more powerful. they also show a desire to hook up with that higher power. else they wouldn’t engage in any kind of religion. they wouldn’t care. those that <em>don’t</em> care are never chosen as role models for anyone except others who also don’t care.</font></font></p> <p><font color="#abaf01" size="4" face="Century Gothic">so what God offers is a real change, and gives His own Spirit to govern us from the inside. I can tell you from personal experience that the Holy Spirit is a much stricter governor than any rule I have ever encountered. you break a rule or a law, you hope you don’t get caught or you pay the price. you might experience shame, or embarrassment.  but </font><font color="#abaf01" size="4" face="Century Gothic">you disobey the Holy Spirit and you have this conviction in your heart that you just can’t ignore, even if nobody else knows you have disobeyed. shame is the price we pay for breaking the rules. conviction is the result of walking contrary to the leading of the Spirit, because it now goes against your own nature, and you know good and well that the Spirit of God only wants the best for you. and Jesus said “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. the Spirit of God never deviates from that in His leading.</font></p> <p><font color="#abaf01" size="4" face="Century Gothic">wouldn’t you rather be lead than ruled?</font></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:dc7dc918-ea8b-463a-8dac-63d9bdd4d66d" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/religion" rel="tag">religion</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/faith" rel="tag">faith</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/God" rel="tag">God</a></div> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-13846737351764799542012-04-17T10:19:00.001-05:002012-04-17T10:19:07.957-05:00more on tripwires<p><font color="#dd8484"><font color="#dfce04" size="5" face="Poor Richard">recently i have been pondering more on tripwires. the Lord has been showing me how they work in my life, and I believe it is a common thing. a tripwire, in the spiritual sense, can be anything that triggers an old way of thinking that used to get you and keep you in a hole of some kind, or cause a mental disturbance that set off an emotional storm. anything like that. its probably different for each person, but the same principal. like me, for example (since i know my own experience best), i saw on the cover of the 'believers voice of victory' the headline for an article called 'living the dream'. it became a tripwire for me. it set off a rash of thoughts about how i always miss out, how i always fail to achieve or obtain, how everyone else gets the prize but i miss it. it isnt a rational line of thinking, but because of a series of events earlier in life a foundation for such a belief was laid, and then later built upon because i had accepted it as my lot, it became a stronghold in my mind. after becoming a Christian, i set about to pull it down because it opposes the knowledge of God. remnants still remain, or else there could be no effective tripwires. thing about them is, you never know when, where, or in what form they are going to be. you know them when you hit one. avoiding them is impossible. dismantling the traps they set off, by casting out imaginations and renewing the mind, is the only way to render them useless. what effect is a tripwire if there is nothing for them to set off? its nothing but silly string then. <br />so, identifying the tripwires is not important. dealing with the thoughts they trigger is. if something gets triggered, and it brings despair or causes you to feel downcast, identify the belief that is the basis for those thoughts, and see if they match what the Word of God says about you. then start casting out the old belief and replacing it with the Word of God, which is living and active and able to discern between bone and marrow, spirit and soul. the soul must always yield to the spirit, because the spirit is already in the image of God. the soul - the mind and the emotions - is what we renew to make it match the Word. <br />easy peasy, right? well ... not always so easy. but that quality decision to do it makes all the difference.</font> <br /></font></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:02725a08-3174-4d97-bc2d-dde3e4a0c16e" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/tripwires" rel="tag">tripwires</a></div> <font color="#dd8484"></font> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-20914259155064505432012-04-14T11:31:00.001-05:002012-04-14T11:31:27.467-05:00tripwires and clotheslines<p><font color="#dd8484" size="5" face="Poor Richard">recently I have been in a monumental battle. over very little things. but Scripture tells us that it’s the little foxes that ruin the vines. why? because the big foxes can reach the grapes, and so simply eat the grapes. the little foxes cannot reach the grapes, so they chew down the vines to bring the grapes to them. Scripture also tells us the a little rudder steers a huge vessel, and a slight misdirection can send that vessel to the wrong side of the planet.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="5" face="Poor Richard">so it is with tripwires and clotheslines.</font></p> <p><strong><font size="4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripwire" target="_blank">Tripwire</a></font></strong></p> <p>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p> <p>A <b>tripwire</b> is a passive <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trigger">triggering</a> mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to some device for detecting or reacting to physical movement. From this basic meaning, several extended and metaphorical uses of the term have developed.</p> <h4>Metaphorical usage</h4> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Brigade">Berlin Brigade</a> stationed in the divided city of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin">Berlin</a> during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War">Cold War</a> was given the mission to be the "tripwire" for a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet">Soviet</a> incursion into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germany">West Germany</a>.</p> <p><font size="3"><strong>Literal usage</strong></font></p> <p>Military usage may designate as a <i>tripwire</i> the wire attached to one or more <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_mine">mines</a> — normally <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounding_mine">bounding mines</a> and the fragmentation type — in order to increase their activation area. Alternatively, tripwires are frequently used in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boobytrap">boobytraps</a>, whereby a tug on the wire (or release of tension on it) will detonate the explosives.</p> <p>Soldiers sometimes detect the presence of tripwires by spraying the area with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silly_String">Silly String</a>. It will settle to the ground in areas where there are no wires; if there are any, the string will be suspended in the air but not set them off due to its light weight. It is being used by U.S. troops in Iraq for this purpose.</p> <p><sup><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ubvFeYuH1lQ/T4mmVZsPDfI/AAAAAAAAADY/MOp05ZORn7I/s1600-h/tripwire%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="tripwire" border="0" alt="tripwire" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-BTEsz2FWK2U/T4mmWFsDumI/AAAAAAAAADg/t8Rhi1fSBPk/tripwire_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a></sup></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="5" face="Poor Richard">tripwires in life can be anything that sets off a mental mine, an image inside of loss, failure, or insufficiency. maybe something you read, or see, or hear. </font><font color="#dd8484" size="5" face="Poor Richard">God tells us in His word to be conformed to His image, and that looking into the perfect law of liberty is like looking into a mirror with Jesus reflection in it. you do that enough times, and go away with that image in your mind, and pretty soon you begin to believe that is what you look like. tripwires set off those inner images from past failures and upsets that, when you hit them, trigger a kneejerk reaction in your own mind designed to throw you completely off the path to victory.</font></p> <p><font size="4"><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=clothesline" target="_blank"><strong>Clothesline</strong></a></font></p> <p>Urban Dictionary</p> <p>clothesline <br />a pro wrestling move in which a wrestler puts his arm straight out to the side and knocks his opponent over, either from his own momentum or his opponents'</p> <p>Hulk Hogan gave a wicked clothesline to the Macho man.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-0DvHVQxJ9Q8/T4mmW9sc7OI/AAAAAAAAADo/OJnNg5Zuijg/s1600-h/clothesline%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="clothesline" border="0" alt="clothesline" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-WHQ9mGBuIDY/T4mmXS2w4PI/AAAAAAAAADw/n4uLin55vx8/clothesline_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="244" height="169" /></a></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="5" face="Poor Richard"><font color="#dd8484">clotheslines in life can hit you unexpectedly from anywhere.</font> they come in the form of people, saying or doing something that hurts, offends, angers. it’s like getting the wind knocked out of you. God says in His word that perfect love casts out fear. that He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. that love covers a multitude of sins. </font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="5" face="Poor Richard">it seems hard sometimes to remember that walking in the Spirit puts us on the path to overcoming, and that keeping the Word of God before us and meditating on it day and night is what makes us prosper and have good success in everything we set our hand to. but once we have tasted the goodness that God has for us, and that walking with Him is, it gets easier to remember. in fact it gets to be the thing we chase after, and desire above all. </font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="5" face="Poor Richard">we live in a fallen world. it’s a warzone, with a crafty enemy that sets traps and mines everywhere, using whatever resources he can. he can’t overcome us himself, as he has been stripped of his authority, paralyzed of his power, and ruined in all his works, by the blood of Jesus. but he will make use of anything he can manipulate, whether it’s something in our own mind that isn’t renewed to the image of Christ, or someone that doesn’t know God or maybe does but doesn’t realize he’s being used. either way, we have been given the armour, the weapons, and the inner image of Christ to completely overcome every thing the devil sets in our path to stop us.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="5" face="Poor Richard">we can remember that once we are born again, we are not of this world. </font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="5" face="Poor Richard"></font></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:546e6b09-b06f-4246-955a-a4c39335331e" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/victory" rel="tag">victory</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/tripwires" rel="tag">tripwires</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/clotheslines" rel="tag">clotheslines</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/warfare" rel="tag">warfare</a></div> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-79467225273555500052012-03-19T15:41:00.000-05:002012-03-19T15:41:45.865-05:00Sufficient for me<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h1 class="entry-title" style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="" src="http://1silvery.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/031912_2024_sufficientf1.jpg?w=500" /><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></h1><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">There is a passage in the New Testament that is often the subject of much controversy. Never mind that it is in plain language. But the controversy usually comes from people trying to decide what it means, instead of just reading what it says and going with that. That’s so religious. But this passage has meant a lot to me in recent days.</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">The passage I speak of is II Corinthians 12:7-9</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">7 ‘And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">8 ‘For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">9 ‘And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">This is an easy passage to understand. It means what it says. It says that a thorn in the flesh was given – a messenger of Satan – to keep him down so the revelations he had been getting wouldn’t lift him up above reach. The purpose of revelation from God is to do exactly that, lift us up above the curse, the devil, death, failure (see psalm 97:11, Deuteronomy 28:13). A messenger brings a message. The book of Acts chronicles the ministry of Paul, and all the opposition that came against him after he started bringing the news of Jesus Christ to people. The message is clear, ‘shut up Paul!’. Some of that opposition was pretty rough, and almost killed him a few times. He ended up in prison. He never shut up.</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">When he asked God to make it go away, God did not say no. But since persecution is not part of what we are delivered from, and the negative messages that come from people, and the doomsayers, and the naysayers, God gave him the answer to the problem. His grace. If you know what grace is, and why it’s sufficient, it’s really clear what a radically awesome answer that is.</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">Grace, in the original Greek word used, is <strong><em>charis</em></strong>, and it translates like this:</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>1)</strong> Grace – (from chairo (1) to rejoice, be glad (2) to rejoice exceedingly (3) to be well, thrive)</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<strong>a)</strong> That which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>2)</strong> Good will, loving-kindness, favor</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong> a)</strong> of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>3)</strong> What is due to grace</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong> a)</strong> The spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong> b)</strong> The token or proof of grace, benefit</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong> 1)</strong> Benefit, bounty</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>4)</strong> Thanks, (for benefits, services, favors), recompense, reward</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">Sufficient is <strong><em>arkeo</em></strong>, and means this:</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>1)</strong> To be possessed of unfailing strength</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong> a)</strong> To be strong, to suffice, to be enough</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong>1)</strong> To defend, ward off</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #725f0c; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;"><strong> b)</strong> To be satisfied, to be contented</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">Okay! Now that we looked up the words, and found the original definition of the words used, we have a really clear image of what Paul was asking God about, and what God said in return. Contrary to popular religious teaching on this passage, that insists that the thorn in Paul’s flesh was a physical ailment, and that God said no He wasn’t going to take it away but rather that He was going to help Paul endure it like a champion – it pretty much just the opposite. In the Old Testament, God referred to the nations that Israel was going to encounter in the Promised Land as thorns in their sides if they mingled with them and adopted their practices. They were not going to become physical ailments to the people of Israel. They were going to become problems. Why would a thorn in the flesh suddenly mean something different in the New Testament? That just isn’t how scripture flows, changing meanings and definitions from one place to the next. It <strong><em>is</em></strong>, however, how religious interpretation often is.</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">You can see I have a real issue with religion. I do, because it has a real tendency to mar the message of the Bible, and to put people in restrictive ceremonious rituals that are empty of life and power.</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">Well, as I said, this has become a real source of power for me. I have my own thorns to deal with. God isn’t just going to remove all the problem people in my life. I really don’t see that as being practical anyway. No, rather God is going to – has – given me this same grace, this charisma, this influence of Himself on and through me, to deal with thorns in my life. This grace is <strong><em>completely</em></strong> sufficient for me making me possessed of unfailing strength!</span></div><div class="entry entry-content"><span style="color: #e54c33; font-family: Century Gothic; font-size: 12pt;">It’s not very religious, but it certainly gets results!</span></div></div>kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-76906263728657779342012-01-16T13:43:00.001-06:002012-01-16T13:43:33.554-06:00wait and see<p><strong><font color="#b7c600" size="3" face="Century Gothic">‘you might have to wait for that’ … ‘you may not get every thing you want’ …</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font color="#b7c600" size="3" face="Century Gothic">the other night I sat down to write out the things I had recently asked God for. things I have been standing on the Word waiting for, which seemed endlessly not to come. I had begun to ponder why things had been at such a long standstill, when I heard the Lord say ‘ye have not because ye ask not …’. It became suddenly clear to me that I had largely been assuming to receive things, like a badly needed job, when I had not actually <em>asked</em> for one. I don’t really know why it is. maybe it’s because one’s faith grows even more when one asks God for something, and when it comes it results in obvious glory to Him. maybe He just likes to be asked. either way, I asked. I asked for a job, with a certain schedule and pay, and I asked for a house with four bedrooms and two baths, on five acres, with a barn for the goats. then I sat down to write out my requests, more for my own benefit, so that I will remember what I asked for and when. <em>immediately</em> the thoughts ran through my mind that I may have to wait for a while for these, and that I may not get everything I want. they brought with them a feeling of impending disappointment and struggle.</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font color="#b7c600" size="3" face="Century Gothic">I pondered these thoughts for a moment. they were very familiar. but I asked ‘why would I have to wait? why is it I might not get what I ask? where do <em>these</em> thoughts come from?’ again, it became suddenly clear to me.</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font color="#b7c600" size="3" face="Century Gothic">over the last too many years I have heard these very statements come from well meaning Christians, who want to shield me from disappointment, and govern me away from asking for those things I desire lest I ask for selfish reasons. but even beyond that, most seem to view the requests in the light of what I am able to get with my own efforts and resources. while it’s quite true that I might have to wait to acquire the job I want or the house I want, and I might not be able to get them on my own, it stands that I am not on my own. nor am I setting out to get these things in God’s name. I have asked One who <em>is </em>able, and<em> </em></font></strong><strong><font color="#b7c600" size="3" face="Century Gothic">willing, to<em> </em>get these things for me, according to His own word.</font></strong></p> <p><strong><font color="#b7c600" size="3" face="Century Gothic">so, I put these thought to rest. put them in the ground, really. chased them out like flies in my house. its not that I am unwilling to wait. I have been waiting for several months now for the job. and like Lazarus, whom Jesus waited four days, until past the time that the Jews believed the soul hung around before departing for good, and then called him out of the tomb, so shall I come up out of this tomb of need and debt. and it will be plainly clear that it was the Blessing of the Lord that did it. but I will not have to wait until some undetermined time that no one knows, and I will not be disappointed with something less than I have asked. my God is able to do far about all I can think or ask. </font></strong></p> <p><strong><font color="#b7c600" size="3" face="Century Gothic">wait and see. He will do it!</font></strong></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:1d26920b-75f6-4b90-865b-5d0ad9e338c2" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/faith" rel="tag">faith</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/God" rel="tag">God</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/the+blessing+of+the+Lord" rel="tag">the blessing of the Lord</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/blessing" rel="tag">blessing</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/the+blessing+of+Abraham" rel="tag">the blessing of Abraham</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/Word+of+God" rel="tag">Word of God</a></div> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-69036005752889598402012-01-09T13:33:00.001-06:002012-01-09T13:33:10.694-06:00new beginnings<p><font color="#dd8484" size="3" face="Papyrus"><strong>from <a title="http://1silvery.wordpress.com/" href="http://1silvery.wordpress.com/">http://1silvery.wordpress.com/</a> january 1, 2012</strong></font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="3" face="Papyrus"><strong>how can I describe what happened to me last night? it was like light bursting forth in my spirit. it was like ocean waves cresting over me. the love God has for me came over me in a way I haven’t experienced in a long time. </strong></font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="3" face="Papyrus"><strong>I once did a word search on joy in the bible. I found Zephaniah 3:17 in that search. it says God will joy over me with singing. the word ‘joy” used there is ‘giyl’, and it means to dance, to tremble, to leap for joy, to rejoice even to exultation. it dawned on me that God felt this way about me. no wonder I was overcome!</strong></font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="3" face="Papyrus"><strong>a couple of other verses came to mind, which I read, and saw what they were really saying. </strong></font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="3" face="Papyrus"><strong>Malachi 3:10 says bring all the tithes to the storehouse, and “’prove Me now herewith, if I will not open to you the windows of heaven …’ and I saw how eager God is to bless me.</strong></font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="3" face="Papyrus"><strong>Mark 11:22 Jesus said ‘have faith in God’. this one struck me because I saw that it wasn’t like you hear most people quote it. you hear the inflection on ‘God’, and the implication is to have faith. most people, christian or not, are glad to see that someone has faith to carry them through trials. but faith alone is not enough. if I have faith in something I can’t see, and I lean my weight on it, it doesn’t matter how much I believe in it, if it isn’t real it won’t support me. planes, for example, can fly because along with thrust they have real air to rest their weight on, to achieve lift. if the air wasn’t there, gravity would never let them get off the ground. but Jesus put the inflection on ‘faith’, implying that God can truly be counted on to be there and to perform His oath as promised. it’s like when you say ‘have faith in me’ to someone you want to encourage. you put the inflection on the word ‘faith’. or when you exclaim that you have no faith in a leader, you do the same. it expresses the faithfulness of the person in question. Jesus said ‘have <em>faith</em> in God. He loves you. He keeps His word’.</strong></font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="3" face="Papyrus"><strong>I went to bed laughing, and somewhat giddy, like the first time I ever thought I was in love. everything I am facing right now seems so ineffective. I woke up laughing.</strong></font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="3" face="Papyrus"><strong>I don’t have to try anymore. trust is no longer an effort.</strong></font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="3" face="Papyrus"><strong>I crossed over. </strong></font></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:0af27cba-9e45-45a3-9d4d-14c1820ae415" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blood+oath" rel="tag">blood oath</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blood+covenant" rel="tag">blood covenant</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/abraham" rel="tag">abraham</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/blessing" rel="tag">blessing</a></div> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-32803666068173889782011-06-05T17:52:00.001-05:002011-06-05T17:52:07.269-05:00long hard times<p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">it started with my vacation. the first three days were fun. the weather was nice, there wasn’t anything to do really, except what we wanted to do. we went on several long drives, things were green, and calm, and pleasant.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">the 18th of the month, wednesday, in the middle of my time off, was the second court date for the beau’s worker’s comp claim. once again, the attorney was unavailable, and there was a fill-in. she was less than stellar, to put it politely. she was more concerned with impressing the judge she thought we had drawn, who apparently was a stodgy old guy in his seventies with no experience as an attorney and was not too familiar with workers comp court. great. but it seems we actually had a better judge than that. still, our fill-in was put out with us both for being upset that it mattered more what kind of mood the judge was in than what she was going to present in his case. when we got into court, she made no abjections, asked minimal questions of the beau, and mostly sat there with a glassy eyed look. the opposing lawyer was more into it than she by far. we were before the judge because we could hardly believe the paltry offer on the table for a life altering injury. evidently our attorney had left out a major part of the claim, that being the subsequent injury to his elbow, that he continually told their office about and that the treating physician refused to address.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">this case is not over, so I wont yet go into more details than that. there will be more to come. but we were much disheartened by the way this attorney handled – or rather didn’t handle – his injury. many times the beau tried to tell him that his elbow was a factor, but at the end all he would say was he knew nothing about it and didn’t see anything in any of the reports about it.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">absolutely unacceptable.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">we recovered some of our joy, and were determined to enjoy the rest of my time off.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">God has been providing means for us, and we have managed to keep our utilities on, with only a couple of disruptions in service. since the beau hasn’t been able to get work, it has been a daily walk of faith, but God is always good for His word.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">still, people are not. after having paid the ebay account because it had been suspended, the beau relisted everything. several auctions were near ending, and we had several bids. this is more income, so very important right now. right before they ended, ebay suspended the account again and ended all the auctions, preventing last minute bidders from bidding. their reason was that a payment had been returned the previous month. they had tried to get the payment that we had just made from my account, which by the way <em>had</em> posted, from an old account that had been closed three weeks ago. he called them to find out how they could do this, only to spend nearly 4 hours and several conversations with people in an eastern call center who speak terrible english and will not listen to the caller but insist on reading from their prompts. he was in a furious state of mind by the time I got off work. during this time the water had been shut off. we have good neighbors, so I got to shower for work, but still … and God provided, so we got the water back on the next day. but it was a very hard few days to endure. the beau was unable to sleep, and his hand and his arm have been in so much pain.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">then our internet was turned off, even though <em>again</em> we had made the payment. the service had been disrupted, we paid and got it right back on, and two days later – during all this other mess – because those at AT&T did not rescind the shut off order once the payment was made like they are supposed to, our internet was gone. once more while I was at work, the beau spent more time than is right trying to get more middle eastern call center workers to turn our internet back on, only to be given the run around and hung up on repeatedly. you think im kidding? I tried too, when I got home, and got the same treatment.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">the next day the beau tried again, and got an actual caring supervisor who first <strong><em>listened</em></strong> to what he had to say, and then <strong><em>acted</em></strong> on our – the customer – behalf. he had our internet back on in thirty minutes, and gave us a free month. and he said he was going to deal with the people we had spoken to previously, because all the calls were recorded.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">see? there is a God. He has to deal with those kind of people too. most people don’t think about that.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Century Gothic">so while it has been a truly taxing and trying last couple of weeks, I believe I see a light, and it isnt an oncoming train. it’s a crack in the roof of this dark tunnel we have been in for some time now. the Lord has made us some promises concerning getting out of oklahoma, and getting us past all this turbulence. He <em>always</em> makes good on those promises.</font></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:5060f7aa-3c32-487f-b07a-632ece05d55c" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/God's+promises" rel="tag">God's promises</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/trials+by+fire" rel="tag">trials by fire</a></div> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-4363025211041791112011-04-24T11:51:00.001-05:002011-04-24T11:51:31.480-05:00rain and renewal<p><font color="#c0504d" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC"><strong>friday was a holiday for me. I work for four catholic doctors, so we get good friday off. it was pretty windy during the day, and hot. we had some business in the utterly user unfriendly downtown tulsa, and probably could have used sails on our little versa and gone just as fast. faster. we stayed home most of the rest of the day. too windy to do anything.</strong></font></p> <p><font color="#c0504d" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC"><strong>later toward evening, just before sunset, I captured these shots of the brewing skies. it that time, it was just as still as space …</strong></font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TWKUtPq0kv0/TbRVBHp7BJI/AAAAAAAAACs/JrmvJ_cbKV8/s1600-h/good-friday-promise4.jpg"><font color="#a5b592"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="good friday promise" border="0" alt="good friday promise" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TWKUtPq0kv0/TbRVBu49C0I/AAAAAAAAACw/yr55mLCs0gQ/good-friday-promise_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="644" height="432" /></font></a><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_TWKUtPq0kv0/TbRVCitMgNI/AAAAAAAAAC0/1Ym5FNzO0co/s1600-h/good-friday-promise-24.jpg"><font color="#a5b592"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="good friday promise (2)" border="0" alt="good friday promise (2)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_TWKUtPq0kv0/TbRVDNzK-TI/AAAAAAAAAC4/d1MUDNk_1dA/good-friday-promise-2_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="644" height="432" /></font></a><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_TWKUtPq0kv0/TbRVEL9UyOI/AAAAAAAAAC8/WTcyT1JuA6A/s1600-h/good-friday-promise-54.jpg"><font color="#a5b592"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 2px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="good friday promise (5)" border="0" alt="good friday promise (5)" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TWKUtPq0kv0/TbRVEmL1YFI/AAAAAAAAADA/N-frqOE9apc/good-friday-promise-5_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="644" height="432" /></font></a></p> <p><font color="#c0504d" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC"><strong>saturday was also rainy off and on. we had some silver coins we sold for a little extra cash – and got more than I thought we were going to get and they didn’t even buy all of them. the lady said a couple of them were worth more as coins than they were as silver, and we should sell them online. so off to get a few provisions, and home. this was an answer to prayer, as I had asked the Lord for some extra money for some things we needed. I am sure the beau did as well.</strong></font></p> <p><font color="#c0504d" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC"><strong>after dinner that night we had an engaging conversation about spiritual warfare, and who we are in Christ. one of my favorite passages is in james 1:23-24</strong></font></p> <p><font size="3"><font color="#dd8484"><sup>23</sup>For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: </font></font></p> <p><font color="#a5b592"><font size="3"><font color="#dd8484"><sup>24</sup>For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.</font></font> </font></p> <p><font size="4"><font color="#c0504d" face="Tempus Sans ITC"><strong>and 2 corinthians 3:18</strong></font></font></p> <p><font size="3"><font color="#dd8484"><sup>18</sup>But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.</font></font></p> <p><font size="4"><font color="#c0504d" face="Tempus Sans ITC"><strong>about the Word of God being like a mirror, one that reflects Jesus when we look into it.</strong></font></font></p> <p><font color="#c0504d" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC"><strong>I came away from that conversation different, changed. in the same way the rains lately have revived the green life from the earth, so the Word has revived my spirit and my heart, and that of my beau. again I am reminded of another place in scripture that I love – isaiah 55:10-11. the whole chapter is amazing.</strong></font></p> <p><font size="3"><font color="#dd8484"><sup>10</sup>For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: </font></font></p> <p><font size="3"><font color="#dd8484"><sup>11</sup>So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.</font></font> </p> <p><font color="#c0504d" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC"><strong>so this easter is significant this year. things have changed. we have rounded a corner.</strong></font></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:e89c81af-10a4-48ef-901f-1054f5d5eab5" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/easter" rel="tag">easter</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/faith" rel="tag">faith</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/Word+of+God" rel="tag">Word of God</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/resurrection" rel="tag">resurrection</a></div> <p><font color="#a5b592" size="4" face="Century Gothic"></font></p> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-5432283410176057992011-04-22T19:51:00.001-05:002011-04-22T19:51:38.204-05:00warfare<p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">what is spiritual warfare? that’s one of the first things the Lord taught me in my walk with Him. what it is, and how to do it. the lessons I learned then have held up every time, in the thirty years that have passed since.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">first thing I learned was to put God’s Word first and last. the highest authority, and the final authority. that meant that no matter what my circumstances indicated, the Word of God overruled any conflicting conclusions.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">this, then, is how the Word of God became the anchor for my soul. no matter what I see happening around me, or what is going on in my life, I can be stable and unmoved, like a little boat that’s anchored to a rock. God has made certain declarations about what He accomplished through Jesus’ death and resurrection, and promises about what He will do for those in covenant with Him which are guaranteed through that same death and resurrection. His Word never changes, so it is always certain, no matter how things may look. the only way to lose out on these promises is to give it away through unbelief.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">so where is the warfare in that?</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">its in the pressures that assault the mind, and try to influence the emotions, to stir up fear and uncertainty that maybe this is too great, or maybe you did something to bring this on your own head, or maybe … and a whole bunch of religious conjecture. the pressure can be relentless. things will be said by others that will lead your attention to the circumstances, and will work toward discouraging you. things will seem to not happen to relieve the problems. you know how it can be.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">the warfare, then, is to stand on the Word no matter what you see or hear to the contrary. you may have to speak the promises out loud to yourself over and over, if that’s what it takes to quiet your mind and turn it back to the Word that never changes. you may have to avoid discussing things with those with good intentions, but who want to explain why God is allowing you to go through this.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">God doesn’t just step out of the way and let things happen. on the contrary, He has vanquished the enemy in three ways through the death and resurrection of Jesus. hebrews 3:14, 1 john 3:8, and colossians 2:15 is the proof. further more, He has put satan under our feet, giving us authority over him in Jesus’ name. He also gave us His own armor, His Word as a sword, and His faith as a shield. that doesn’t sound like someone who would then arbitrarily step aside and let us be attacked, or go though something. that sounds like Some One who armed us and equipped us to be able to overcome whatever gets thrown at us. that sounds like Some One who wants us to win.</font></p> <p><font color="#dd8484" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">so the deciding factor then is not God, but us.</font></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:07692c27-3a05-4b72-b14b-9323490f745a" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/warfare" rel="tag">warfare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/spiritual+warfare" rel="tag">spiritual warfare</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/standing+on+God's+Word" rel="tag">standing on God's Word</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/overcoming" rel="tag">overcoming</a></div> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-21231666399026319292011-02-25T06:30:00.001-06:002011-02-25T06:30:38.511-06:00fishing for money<p><font color="#a5a5a5" size="4" face="Century Gothic">my coworker and I were talking about the lottery ticket yesterday. she had told her husband about it, and his response was one of surprise. I guess a lot of people have been taught that you don’t ask God for money. or if you do, there are only certain ways He’s going to answer you, and they wont be very satisfying answers.</font></p> <p><font color="#a5a5a5" size="4" face="Century Gothic">not so. she reminded me of the time Jesus told peter to go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. He told him to open its mouth, and there he would find a coin worth enough to pay his taxes and Jesus’ taxes. (matthew 17:27)</font></p> <p><font color="#a5a5a5" size="4" face="Century Gothic">sound crazy? is it any more crazy than being told to go buy a lottery ticket at night, from a certain convenience store, an hour before the drawing?</font></p> <p><font color="#a5a5a5" size="4" face="Century Gothic">God isnt limited to religious belief. although, He is often limited by it. too many people base all their expectations on what they heard in sunday school, and never actually find out what God believes.</font></p> <p><font color="#a5a5a5" size="4" face="Century Gothic">it grieves Him when we limit Him.</font></p> <p><font color="#a5a5a5" size="4" face="Century Gothic"><font size="4"><font color="#eb473f">mark 11:22-24</font></font></font></p> <p><font size="4"><font color="#eb473f"><sup>22</sup>And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. </font></font></p> <p><font size="4"><font color="#eb473f"><sup>23</sup>For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. </font></font></p> <p><font size="4"><font color="#eb473f"><sup>24</sup>Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. </font></font><font color="#a5a5a5" size="4" face="Century Gothic"></font></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:48128eba-4c6f-4840-828b-32343e2c3168" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/Gods+Word" rel="tag">Gods Word</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/promises" rel="tag">promises</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/answered+prayer" rel="tag">answered prayer</a></div> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-22630088254382155862010-08-29T09:43:00.001-05:002010-08-29T09:43:44.911-05:00conviction vs condemnation<p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">is there a difference? </font></p> <p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">i didnt used to think so. i used to be very self condemning. i grew up catholic, in a home where shame was used as the prime motivator. but before you get up in arms, this isnt anti catholicism. its just my experience of growing up in a household of a catholic grandmother and a catholic mother. and me.</font></p> <p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">my mom loved me. of that i have no doubt. but she used guilt to correct me rather than swatting my behind when she wanted to modify my behavior. i guess she thought she was protecting my psyche by not physically striking me. instead, she undermined my self confidence by striking my ego with suggestions that i was not fit as a person if i was capable of doing this or saying that. there was no real standard, and i was never given clear rules. rather, i learned how to navigate through life based on her reactions. it was her subtle expressions of distain and disapproval that got the message to me. she could show disappointment in a way that would strike my heart. only thing is, i usually felt like it was me she was disappointed in, not what i did or said. it makes remembering a clear example really difficult, because it was more a lifestyle – an environment that i lived in – than good honest discipline. it must have effected me in very profound ways, because i was always among the most unpopular kids at school, to the point that i hated school with everything in me. i was stressed most of the time, because i felt so inferior. and let me tell you, catholic rich kids can pick up on that and they will goad you till you die inside because of it. when i complained to my mother about the ridicule at school, she always quickly solved the mystery of why by telling me it was because i was too bossy. it didnt help that she was chased home by kids who threw rocks at her and called her ‘cat licker’, from the public school she went to. likely why she came up with the money to send me to catholic school.</font></p> <p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">this mind set followed me through my teens, into my rebellious era, and into my commitment to God when i gave my life to Jesus. now the Lord gave me much joy in my heart, and i could see from His word that His love was unconditional. i also started going to a very good church, where the Word was taught rather than religious concepts. also i have always been adventurous, and keen to know why things need to be this way or that way. in spite of my mothers ‘floating eyebrows’ of disapproval, she was always good at explaining to me why, when it didnt involve my discipline. so i began to have a good foundation built into my heart of Gods way, and His Word.</font></p> <p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">if only i could get rid of this shadow of constant inferiority. but it had been instilled in me that this was how good people thought, and that to have confidence was the same as being vain and conceited. and so … although i knew God loved me without condition, i never knew if He was pleased with me. i have never been a people pleaser in the usual sense of the term. yet still, who want to feel like their ultimately going to be a disappointment? thats corrosion in the soul.</font></p> <p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">well, one day i was sitting in my room, feeling actually quite terrified that i was going to lose all my reward in heaven, and maybe even be cut off from God, because i wasnt living up to His expectations, or my potential, or whatever. i was honestly close to having a panic attack over it. it wasnt called that back then – but it felt just as frightening. it all centered around the passage in the gospels about the branch bearing fruit or being cut off. i felt my life was very fruitless.</font></p> <p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">here is where the difference between the letter of the law and the Spirit of the Word comes into focus. and the difference between conviction and condemnation was made clear to me in a way i will never forget.</font></p> <p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">the Holy Spirit broke into my thoughts as i was reeling under the fear, and He said ‘the fruit of the Spirit …’. thats all he said. thats all i needed to hear. i realized at that moment it was His fruit, not mine. He would bring it forth as i yielded to Him. it was not a matter of me doing to please Him, it was a matter of me realizing my new identity in Him, and walking in it. like an apple tree makes no effort to produce apples … it is a by product of being an apple tree. as long as it is watered and cared for, it will produce apples.</font></p> <p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">not long after this i began to see that condemnation was a religious idea, not a scriptural one. condemnation is general, vague, and points the finger at the individual. therefore, there can be no solution, because there is no clear problem. you feel as though you are the problem, but have no idea how to fix it. so you are left with always trying harder, and never feeling secure that you have ever done enough. fear is the motivating factor behind it, and it keeps your focus locked on yourself. the exact opposite of what God desires for us.</font></p> <p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">conviction, on the other hand, is extremely clear and specific. it points to an action, an intent, or a purpose. something you did or are about to do. its clear about what is wrong with it, and what to do to fix it. either repent or refrain. and then the matter is done. it does not linger, or haunt you. it motivating factor is love, because when the Holy Spirit brings conviction to your soul, you may for a moment feel sorrow, but the sorrow is brief because you know its because He loves you, not so He will love you. because you know He loves you, you want to fix it. there is no nagging uncertainty that you havent done enough, or done the right thing. there is no guess work involved at all.</font></p> <p><font color="#fe81b9" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">it makes all the difference in the world.</font></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:820722f5-efa9-461b-bdfc-6339d6bb78d1" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/condemnation" rel="tag">condemnation</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/conviction" rel="tag">conviction</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/regligion" rel="tag">regligion</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/Gods+Word" rel="tag">Gods Word</a></div> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-10275685502414453762010-06-13T12:28:00.001-05:002010-06-13T12:28:13.472-05:00pondering …<p><strong><font color="#b8cc68" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">i have often pondered what it is that Jesus actually accomplished for me. what His blood purchased. consider the word ‘saved’ – sozo (greek)</font></strong></p> <p><b>1)</b> to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction</p> <p>     <b>a)</b> one (from injury or peril)</p> <p><b>1)</b> to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health</p> <p><b>1)</b> to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue</p> <p><b>       b)</b> to save in the technical biblical sense</p> <p><b>1)</b> negatively</p> <p><b>       a)</b> to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment</p> <p><b>       b)</b> to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance</p> <p><strong><font color="#b8cc68" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">used in the new testament:  </font></strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/#">AV</a> — <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria=save*+G4982">save</a> 93,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= make whole*+G4982"> make whole</a> 9,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= heal*+G4982"> heal</a> 3,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= be whole*+G4982"> be whole</a> 2,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= misc*+G4982"> misc</a> 3 </p> <p><strong><font color="#b8cc68" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">and the word ‘peace’ – shalom (hebrew)</font></strong></p> <p><b>1)</b> completeness, soundness, welfare, peace</p> <p><b>       a)</b> completeness (in number)</p> <p><b>       b)</b> safety, soundness (in body)</p> <p><b>       c)</b> welfare, health, prosperity</p> <p><b>       d)</b> peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment</p> <p><b>       e)</b> peace, friendship</p> <p><b>1)</b> of human relationships</p> <p><b>2)</b> with God especially in covenant relationship</p> <p><b>       f)</b> peace (from war)</p> <p><b>       g)</b> peace (as adjective)</p> <p><strong><font color="#b8cc68" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">used in the old testament</font></strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/#">AV</a> — <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria=peace*+H7965">peace</a> 175,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= well*+H7965"> well</a> 14,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= peaceably*+H7965"> peaceably</a> 9,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= welfare*+H7965"> welfare</a> 5, salute + 07592 4,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= prosperity*+H7965"> prosperity</a> 4,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= did*+H7965"> did</a> 3,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= safe*+H7965"> safe</a> 3,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= health*+H7965"> health</a> 2,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= peaceable*+H7965"> peaceable</a> 2,<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm?Criteria= misc*+H7965"> misc</a> 15 </p> <p><strong><font color="#b8cc68" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">the basic meaning is ‘nothing broken, nothing missing’. that reaches so far … it covers everything now and later. </font></strong><strong><font color="#b8cc68" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC"></font></strong></p> <p><strong><font color="#b8cc68" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC"></font></strong></p> <p><strong><font color="#b8cc68" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC"></font></strong></p> <p><strong><font color="#b8cc68" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC"></font></strong></p> <p><strong><font color="#b8cc68" size="4" face="Tempus Sans ITC">we watched a wonderful movie last night. ‘ink’. here is an excerpt. i highly recommend this little flick! i finally have a favorite movie  :D</font></strong></p> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:82271fc3-520f-4e7b-ad0f-80b142d0cb01" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="9b3d8689-5108-4798-9fb7-441700f7efda" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKZRGRroDkQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" target="_new"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_TWKUtPq0kv0/TBUVLI449pI/AAAAAAAAACY/O-FUpsfowKM/videoa67ced152b96%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('9b3d8689-5108-4798-9fb7-441700f7efda'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/pKZRGRroDkQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/pKZRGRroDkQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p></p> <p> </p> <p></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:0d0e869c-5151-4d87-850a-502d4c2dd3f2" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">google Tags: <a href="http://www.google.com/tag/Jesus" rel="tag">Jesus</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/salvation" rel="tag">salvation</a>,<a href="http://www.google.com/tag/ink" rel="tag">ink</a></div> kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8187853152168413838.post-56494055857053980402010-06-12T14:36:00.000-05:002010-06-12T14:36:23.668-05:0030 years walking with God<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">what does it mean to be in covenant with someone? in this western culture, the idea of a covenant is vague. a blood covenant isnt really even part of western thought. but a covenant is a binding tie that unites two parties in a matter, with serious consequences for breaking it. if the covenant is cut in blood, its all the more binding. usually for life.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Verdana;">remember the 'blood brothers' or 'blood sisters' pacts we made as children? we would each prick a finger to get blood, and then press our fingers together to mingle that blood, and make pledges and promises that were intended at the time to last forever. or at least until the need for the pact no longer existed. they were very solemn and deep things, these pacts we made in this way. ever wonder where the idea came from?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Verdana;">consider most marriage ceremonies. there may not be blood in these modern days, but there is a meal, wine and cake, and the joining of names. families become joined, not just the two individuals. there are the pledges and promises, and the rings symbolising joining and eternity. where does the element of the meal come from?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Verdana;">in ancient days, God made covenant with man. He made a blood covenant with abram, with large animals cut in half, and all their blood poured out onto a path between their severed parts. blood covenants back then were made like this between two tribes - one skilled in warfare, the other strong in farming or agriculture or building. two representatives of both tribes were selected to walk the path of blood, and sware to each other an oath of faithfulness to the other, and pledge all their strengths, possesions, and resources to the other. there was a meal shared by both tribes, and often a joining of names. there was also a penalty, usually of death, to whoever broke the covenant. this whole concept was given to man by God, with Whom man walked early on, before we so conveniently drifted away. so it was that man understood the nature of a covenant. and when God brought abram out of chaldea, and promised him a son, and promied to make him the father of many nations, that He sealed the deal with a blood covenant.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Verdana;">there was one difference with the making of this covenant however. God put abram into a sleep, after he had gotten the animals, and cut them in half from head to tail (no small job that!), poured out their blood along the path between the parts, and sat waiting to see what God would do. then God walked the path between the parts, as a smoking furnace and a burning lamp. these two things passed between the parts, and God swore an oath to abram. this sealed the deal. abram had already believed the promise God had made that he would have an heir. but God sealed it with a blood oath, promising his son would come from his own loins, even though he was now 99 years old, and sarah was 90.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Verdana;">the promises that God made to abram that night concerned not only the child he would have, but the seed that would come from that line, who would be the Son of Man. the Word made Flesh. and the salvation that would become available to us through His death and resurrection - the new covenant in His blood. that salvation comes with way more than just deliverence from sin and entrance to heaven. it comes with protection from danger and enemies, healing, prosperity, and authority. in short, all of Gods resources were made available to whosoever would accept the gift of salvation and enter into covenant with Him. and its been sealed in blood.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Verdana;">i will testify that it is real. i have walked with God, through Jesus, for over thirty years now. i have never seen His word fail, or His promise break, in all that time. never.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Verdana;">thats whay i am, and always will be, a covenant woman.</span>kïrstin☼http://www.blogger.com/profile/05263441437771851679noreply@blogger.com2